Jesse Damon

posted 11 Nov 2013, 17:03 by Paul Woodward

Interview
by Woody

Silent Rage front man Jesse Damon is back with a
brand new solo album, his first for seven years and it sees him collaborating
closely with AOR icon Paul Sabu. Woody got in touch with Jesse to discuss his
latest solo offering and a couple of sneaky questions about the Rage!

Hi Jesse, You have a new solo album coming out in
September called ‘Temptation In The Garden of Eve’ on the AOR Heaven record
label. What can fans expect from your latest album?

They
need to get ready to rock out with these new
songs of mine. The whole album fits together well with the story lines in
my lyrics as well as the material coming across solid and strong. The
production quality that Paul Sabu delivered is consistently fantastic and
evident throughout the entire CD.

What inspired you to make this new solo album and
has it turned out as you originally envisioned?

Song writing inspires me, because I try
to continue to push myself to write great songs, and listening to bands that I
like and their new releases. I always get motivated by it and start to think
about recording some new material of my own. Eventually, my feelings tell me
it’s time to go put it all together for another new release!

In hindsight I really would love to put
out a new release every year, but it’s simply impossible these days. Song
writing wise, I could do it, but all the other facets are to insurmountable
such as the budget it takes to record and finance a complete project, the
scheduling to allow time to complete it, and other factors that complete the
making of it all. When putting together a new album you lose a little sanity,
but as soon as it’s complete and released you get it back,*Laughs*

You have worked closely with AOR Icon Paul Sabu on
this album, how did you guys hook up and what has the experience of working
with Paul been like?

I’ve known Paul for many years. He produced the first
Silent Rage album ‘Shattered Hearts’. I think that the answer to that is my
best work has been with Paul over the years. I have learned and continue
to learn from him. We work well together because our playing, singing, and
writing styles are similar. I think Paul brings a quality to the
project because he's both a musician and a producer. There also is a comfort in
knowing that he knows me and my abilities, and because of that he has a
way of helping me deliver the best performances I can.

Is there a meaning or indeed any reason behind
calling the album ‘Temptation In The Garden of Eve’?

Besides
it being a good title, the story is a familiar one. Woman is lonely and
frightened, man comes and saves her and helps her to safety, then they both
give in to temptation and make love to each other. It also has a similarity to
the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but I wrote my lyrics
as a parody with a satirical meaning. When talking about temptation, it’s all
around us in life. Some of the other songs just happened to have some
temptations within their story too, so it tied in and worked as a premise.

Can you tell us about a few of your favourite songs
on the album, how they were written, what they are about or any stories about
them?

I
really like these new songs, they motivated me to perform better with more
intensity and urgency. It has to do with the mood of the album. I think when
you listen to these songs you want to hear some aggressive solo's and
rhythm guitar work. I also chose to perform longer solo's on some of the songs.
It just felt right this time around to jam my ass off!

It’s hard to pick favourites without feeling like
I’m belittling any of the songs I don’t mention. I love them all for the
record. I’ll just talk about them some.

Black Widow is very cool in its clever
twists of its story line and it has a lot of elements, a melodic chorus with a
darker verse with a classic solo!

Save the world was the last song I wrote
for the album and I love the story and its message.

I Need You Forever was written around
2005 and I finally got it on a release. It’s a great song about love and the
passion for the one you love.

Angel in the Starlight is written and
dedicated to my Dad who passed away and all my memories I have and go through.

Hold On I’m very fond of, it reminds me
of a Foreigner meets Silent Rage kind of song. In the story, the relationship
doesn’t work out but she keeps a picture of him while her heart is broken.

Do you plan to perform live as a solo artist? And
more specifically any shows in the UK?

I
plan to, but do not have any dates arranged or confirmed yet. It would be a
pleasure to go and perform the UK!

If you do would you use the musicians you have
worked with on the album, Paul Sabu, Pete Newdeck and Eric Ragno?

I
think it’s possible but nothing is confirmed.

You’ve worked with some big names over the years and
obviously with Paul Sabu on this one, are there any other musicians you’d love
to work with in the future?

Dhani
Harrison, I’m really hooked on his music the New Number 2, If I ever got the
chance to do any work with Dave Meniketti and Doug Aldrich I would jump at the
chance. I have a re-occurring dream of myself performing with Eric Clapton, one
of my biggest idols, if it happens someday my dream would come true.

I can’t talk to you and not mention Silent Rage! So
what’s happening in the Rage camp? Is there a new album in the works?

Next
year 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of our “Don’t Touch Me There’
CD and we plan to record some, but I’m not confirming a new album right now. We
also have some live dates coming up. We’re performing at this year’s Rock
Harvest Festival in Baltimore, Maryland on November 7th- 9th
with 40 bands in a three day event. We have more dates coming in 2014 also.

Also I’ve heard a whisper that Silent Rage may be
returning to the UK in 2014 for some live shows, is there any truth to this
rumour?

If
I can make it happen I will! I don’t want to jinx anything or say anything
prematurely, but it is possible!

What bands would you love to tour with or support?

Aerosmith,
Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Foreigner, Sammy Hagar, Y&T to name a few, but
there are many more of course!

Is there anything else you would like to add or say
to our readers?

Thank
you very much everyone! To all of you fans who've supported me, I owe you my
gratitude and I do it all for you! Thanks a
million!